Abstract
This proposal aims to define initial quorum values for the Rocket Pool Protocol DAO ahead of its first on-chain vote. RPIP-33 introduced a standard vote quorum analogous to the pre-existing Snapshot quorum. Moreover, it added a veto quorum which, if met, allows for penalization of the vote’s proposer. Both of these parameters are to be set to values that allow for effective and secure governance.
Specification
proposal.quorumSHALL be set to 15%proposal.veto.quorumSHALL be set to 20%
Rationale
Proposal Quorum
The proposal.quorum parameter is to be interpreted as a share of vote power that has been initialized on-chain. In order for a proposal to succeed, the sum of its for, against, and abstain votes must equal or exceed quorum. This is similar in concept to the pDAO Snapshot quorum, which RPIP-4 defines as 15% of total pDAO vote power. In the past, this on-chain parameter has been a moving target due to the ever-increasing amount of vote power initialized by node operators. The intention is for these two quora to represent the same amount of vote power despite this discrepancy in definition. RPIP-63 first attempted to account for this by setting proposal.quorum to 30% after half of all vote power had been initialized. Due to a recent community initiative, all on-chain vote power is now active, which allows for a final parameter change to 15%.
Proposal Veto Quorum
Similarly to proposal.quorum, proposal.veto.quorum represents a share of initialized vote power. When voting against a proposal, pDAO voters have the option to add a veto. If the amount of veto votes equals or exceeds the veto quorum, the proposal is rejected and the proposer’s RPL bond is burned, even if a majority voted in favor. The mechanism acts as a defense against malicious or generally undesirable proposals. Setting the veto quorum too high would invalidate the mechanism; on the other side, setting it too low facilitates governance capture. Past pDAO proposals have seen vote participation fluctuate between 15% and 30%. Official delegates represent 21.6%, the largest 10 of whom can combine to reach 15%. Given the nature of the quorum and the current distribution of vote power, a veto quorum of 20% is suggested as a reasonable tradeoff for the protocol.
Citation
haloooloolo, "RPIP-64: On-Chain pDAO Quora," Rocket Pool Improvement Proposals, no. 64, January 2025. [Online serial]. Available: https://rpips.rocketpool.net/RPIPs/RPIP-64.